FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

March 28, 2018 (EIRNS)—The Russian Foreign Ministry today officially raised the question as to whether U.K. intelligence services were involved in the attempt on the life of the Skripals “as part of a large-scale political provocation,” citing the manifest refusal of the U.K. government to produce any evidence whatsoever to justify its global cry for war against Russia over that poisoning.

Russia’s “Foreign Ministry Statement,” posted to its website today, calls the British Empire’s Skripal caper bluff, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Empire’s strategic bluff in his March 1 speech announcing Russia’s new missiles capable of avoiding the West’s ABM systems. Readers can judge for themselves in the excerpts which follow:

“The British authorities have demonstrated their inability to ensure the safety of Russian citizens more than once....

“In the latter case [of Sergey Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, the latter still a Russian citizen], London acted contrary to all the norms of international law, ethics and even common sense. London has accused Russia of poisoning Russian citizens without providing any evidence or the complete picture of the crime. At the same time, it has provided the alleged name of the toxic agent, which has never been used in Russia, and has launched a large-scale political and media campaign against Russia. It has initiated the campaign to expel Russian diplomats from a number of countries and representative offices at international organizations and has announced a package of other sanctions....

“The actions of the British authorities raise many questions. The British public is being kept in the dark regarding the key elements of this incident, which has been described as extremely dangerous, and the number of the people affected is kept secret. No information has been provided about the activities of Britain’s secret research facility in Porton Down near Salisbury, where chemical research was conducted. No information has been provided about ‘Operation Toxic Dagger,’ an annual chemical warfare exercise conducted at the Porton Down facility together with the U.K. military, which was completed shortly before the Skripals’ poisoning.

“Meanwhile, London has initiated a worldwide campaign to spread the presumption of Russia’s guilt. We see a deliberate and purposeful escalation of confrontation and a demonstration of military force on Russia’s border. It is an obvious effort to undermine the political and diplomatic interaction that could lead to an objective and comprehensive investigation of the Salisbury incident.

“The analysis of all these circumstances shows that the U.K. authorities are not interested in identifying the real causes and the real perpetrators of the crime in Salisbury, which suggests a possible involvement of the U.K. intelligence services. Unless we receive convincing proof of the opposite, we will regard this incident as an attempt on the life of Russian citizens as part of a large-scale political provocation. We emphasize that the burden of proof rests solely on the U.K.”